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Why is my HomePage so important?
Your homepage is the very first impression your visitors will get when they type your url. Despite this many business websites are poorly structured. The reality is a poorly structured homepage leaves money on the table.
The homepage is unique in the sense that it isn’t a dedicated landing page build around one particular action. Your homepage must be treated differently to all other pages as you’re catering to different audiences with different needs at different parts of the sales cycle.
You’ll notice that all successful business websites incorporate certain features, design aspects and content. Theses are used over and over again because they work. There’s a social science behind building the perfect homepage and we want to replicate that success.
The following are features you may wish to incorporate within your own website
Features your homepage should include
Your Headline
The most important copy on your website. It may only be a few words but you’ve got 3 seconds to tell visitors what your business offers.
Your website will be visited by a variety of people with different needs and wants that your business is aiming to provide. You’ll find it extremely difficult to hammer home an optimised message to everyone. In this instance you should be taking into consideration the needs of the majority and go with a message to suit them.
The Website Headline must be clear and powerful yet short and simple.
Your Sub-headline
Here you can compliment your headline with additional information. A shortened version of your mission statement or summing up a users most common pain points and your solution is a perfect way to use this space.
A Tempting CTA (Call to Action)
Every website has a goal. Whether that’s buying a product or service from you or booking a discovery call to much more.
To get your visitor to do this it’s best to ask.
Your CTA’s goal here is to tempt your customer to dig deeper into your website and move them further down your funnel.
You could provide 2 or 3 CTA’s above the fold so that visitors immediately have a clear direction to their destination of interest. Any more than 3 and you risk confusing the customer and hindering your efforts.
CTA’s should be screaming “click me” to the user. The trick is to design a CTA that is in contrast to the background but still fits nicely into the overall theme of the website.
The text of your CTA should ideally be no more than 5 words. An example of this would be “Sign up” “Schedule a Call” or “Start Your Free Trial”.
The Hero Image
We’ve also created a comprehensive guide exclusively on hero images.
We’re always told “A picture tells a thousand words” and your website is no exception. Every image on your website should be contributing to the story of your brand.
Your Hero image on your homepage should instantly give the visitor a visual of your business and what you stand for.
If this is an option, take plenty of professional pictures and feature them throughout your homepage and website in general. If you’re stuck for images then stock images can be a great alternative to convey messages and meanings behind your work.
Remember, as all of our website are responsive your Hero image will change slightly depending on the device used. Make sure your photo has plenty of padding around the prime subjects and if you would like a different image to be used on a mobile device then submit two images to us and label them accordingly.
We offer professional photography within the South Wales area, ask us how we can showcase your business with a professional photoshoot.
Benefits
A sure fire way to keep a customer interested to by clearly visualising the benefits of your product or service. What you do and why this is important should be your main goal here.
Keeping the copy easy to read, you’ll want to connect with your customer in their lingo and compel them to further investigate your valuable offerings.
Info boxes work well for clearly conveying benefits. You’ve probably seen columns of 3 or 4 info boxes with an icon or image above followed by a short description and that all important CTA.
Features
The key features of your product or service can be listed in addition to your key benefits. Likewise, you should keep your copy short and punchy. You could list key features of any service plans or unique features of your product or service. Tables and info boxes work well here.
Social Proof
Adding social proof to your website is a powerful indicator of trust. A few short testimonials from real customers can instil trust in your visitors a lot more than your sales pitch. Including headshots, names and a link if applicable can go further into cementing your visitors trust in your business.
Whatever you do… Don’t use the standard testimonial images of your chosen template. Many visitors will spot these as stock images and assume your testimonial is fake. Always use real testimonials.
Success Indicators
Along with Social Proof you should include any awards or accolades you’ve won. All of these should be clear for visitors to see and will double down on the credibility in which your visitors hold you.
About your business or team
Where’s the best place to include information about your business? Right on your homepage. A small engaging expert on the homepage can give your visitors insight and inspire them to learn more about you. Linking this through to your ‘About Us’ page with a converting CTA will increase engagement and add more value to your visitors.
Learn how to write the perfect ‘About Us’ Page.
Design Navigation
Decreasing bounce rates are a key focus of UX design. An easily navigable homepage is the difference between users converting or leaving your page. A visitor may not be interested in your core offerings above the fold, in this case we want to give them more relevant calls to action at key points on the homepage. This is where secondary CTA’s come in handy.
Visitors should be able to clearly find your menu and access your website pages in a hierarchical order. If you have an ‘About Us’ Expert on your homepage be sure to add links directly through to your ‘About Us’ Page. Likewise, adding a list of your core services and links leading to each can be a great way of engaging your visitors.
Offers for free material
Depending on your business you may wish to offer free material to generate more leads. Visitors are more likely to purchase from you if they feel they’ve already had value from you.
This usually comes in the form of an eBook or a free analysis / report. Here you can capture customers who are not quite ready to fully commit but are interested in your services. This data can then be used in your marketing campaigns.
Contact Information
Your homepage is an ideal place for a contact form or more information on how to contact you. In addition to your ‘Contact Page’ this will ensure people are prompted to take action. It’s also another indicator of trust as it shows some degree of authenticity. Many websites use the header to include contact information. This is also another great idea a you are always a click away on every webpage on your site.
Let's Design Your Homepage
Now we’ve discovered how important the Homepage is we can get to work on creating our own. By incorporating a variety of the above techniques your Homepage Cardiff Web Designer have the best chance at securing your chosen goals.
Check out your highest performing competitors or comparable companies for ideas on the structure of their website. If they’re successful online then chances are a similar page structure will work for you.
Remember to make good use of visuals, clear and concise text and “smash me now” Call To Actions. Also keep in mind that this likely wont be the last draft of your Homepage. You’ll want to keep dialling your Homepage in to really make the most out of your website. Put customer feedback, Analytics and regular A/B testing to good use in order to lower bounce rates and squeeze conversions even further.
We offer a full suite of services that cater to the creation of your Homepage. Design, Photography, Development, Copywriting and Ongoing Optimisation services all combine for a first in class ‘turn key’ solution. Call us on 029-212-86868 Or email us at hello@matthewbushen.com to get more information.
